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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29848788">That's Cold</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlesOberonn/pseuds/CharlesOberonn'>CharlesOberonn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Adventure Time</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Internal Monologue</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 23:14:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,196</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29848788</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlesOberonn/pseuds/CharlesOberonn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marceline, Simon, and PB are having a game night. But something that PB said triggers some troubling feelings within Marceline. Feelins that she has difficulties confronting.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Princess Bubblegum/Marceline</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>That's Cold</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The seasons change but she and Princess Bubblegum do not. Not in the same way, at least. Marceline hasn't gotten used to that feeling even after more than a thousand years. Humans, like she used to be, grew older. Every season they were slightly different in behavior and outlook. And while she and PB weren’t immune to change, they were highly resistant to it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And right now, it was making Marceline very frustrated how little her girlfriend had changed since the two started dating again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was a bit of a creep.” she said, not even looking at the man she was accusing of creepiness. “No offense, Simon.” she dignified him with a glance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three of them, PB, Marceline, and Simon, were playing a board game. It was one of the complicated games that PB and Simon particularly liked. One with the little wooden people that represented workers in an increasingly complex operation that each player controlled. Marceline sucked at these sorts of games at first. But she had a long time to practice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None taken.” Simon responded. He was in the middle of pulling out cardboard tokens out of a sack. They were “playing” for more than 10 minutes now but were still in the setup phase of the game.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marceline, for her part, was setting up the board made out of cardboard hexagons representing different kingdoms of Ooo. And despite what Simon said, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> take offense in PB’s words. And she had a feeling that Simon did as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was hardly the first time PB said something disparaging about Ice King.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The previous few times were also when Simon was present. And those times she also made a pseudo-apology of ‘no offense, Simon’ and Simon responded with the same dismissive ‘none taken’. But it didn’t make her words sound any nicer to Marceline.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was a real nuisance.” “We used to make fun of him all the time” “He really thought he had a chance of getting with me!” always in the third person, always in past tense. Even as Simon was sitting right there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And it was making Marceline quite angry. But also concerned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Had she not also been a nuisance to PB before? She knew she was. And she was sure that PB has made fun of her in the past. She certainly made fun of PB. And the last one made her ache the worst. Was she unworthy of PB’s love? If the two weren’t previous lovers, and if Marceline perhaps looked differently, would she be considered unlovable?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But PB never made remarks like these to her. Not nearly as harshly as she did to Ice King, at least. She also coated any criticism with sugary goodness. Marceline believed those words, of course. She loved PB, she wanted to believe that PB at least liked her back. But when thinking about it, those words started to seem a bit like her “no offense, Simon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marcy, are you okay?” The vampire queen wasn’t sure who said it of her two companions. It took her a second to realize it was both.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She must’ve dozed off into her own personal crisis while setting up the board. Looking down, the thing was quite a mess, and she was certain she arranged it wrong. Looking back up, she saw PB looking at her with concerned eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… I’m fine.” she responded with a delay. She looked at Simon, who was similarly concerned. But his concern seemed different, somehow more genuine. But perhaps it was just Marcy’s state of mind playing tricks on her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want me to help you get a glass of water? Something to eat?” PB asked, a very motherly tone to her questions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually yeah.” Marceline replied, her voice trailing off. “Actually.” she repeated herself “Simon, can you come with me please?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, of course.” the man seemed as surprised by the ask as PB was. Though unlike her, he didn’t seem insulted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marceline floated to the kitchen. Simon followed her on foot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She actually was thirsty, and so she floated over to the fridge to get herself something to drink. Simon stood besides her. She remembered how years earlier the two were in the midst of an emotional breakthrough in this kitchen. Of course, PB wouldn’t have considered the man in Marcy’s kitchen back then to be Simon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wondered if Simon did. She would have to ask him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Simon, doesn’t it bother you?” she cocked her head, sipping with half of her mouth and speaking with the other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Drinking and talking at the same time? Yes, it’s kind of gross when I think about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” she sounded a bit angry. “PB, talking trash about you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” he paused. “Maybe?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe how?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean. I would’ve been insulted-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you don’t see him as you, right?” Marceline interrupted “Ice King, I mean. You’re not him, so it doesn’t matter if she insults him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ice King did hurt her quite a number of times.” Simon looked down at his feet, his voice was somber. “He hurt a lot of people. I wouldn’t be surprised if people dislike him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you changed!” Marceline pleaded with him “You’re not the same princess kidnapping bozo. You are nice, and friendly, and even heroic and honorable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, that’s why-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I mean. Before the magic reverted. You changed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ice King</span>
  </em>
  <span> changed. He had friends, friends you still have. He was friends with Finn. He- you, were friends with me.” she almost seemed like she was going to cry. “You weren’t some other person. You were you. You were sick, but you were you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose that’s one way to look at it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s how I look at it.” Marceline said “Because when she’s insulting Ice King. She’s insulting my friend. She’s insulting my dad. The person who raised me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you should tell her.” Simon said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe.” Marceline floated down, her feet landing on the floor with a thud. But then she continued. “Don’t you have anything else to say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Simon paused again. “I-” he paused for a third time. “I think you summed it up pretty well, actually. It’s something I was quite scared of confronting. Being him. Being what many, including myself, considered a monster. But you make Ice King sound like not such a bad dude after all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s the best dude.” Marceline smiled shyly. She punched Simon’s shoulder slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ow!” he said, mostly in jest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is everything okay back there?!” PB shouted at them from the living room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marceline went to reply, but Simon put a finger on her lips. “Yeah, we’re fine!” he shouted “I was just venting to Marceline that I’m annoyed when you talk trash about Ice King.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>PB took a minute to respond. “Oh, sorry about that! I’ll stop it!” she shouted back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you!” Simon was smiling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marceline didn’t know if to laugh or cry. It ended up being so simple. She decided to laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, we have a game to play.” Simon took his daughter by the arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two always beat me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh, you’ll survive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two smiled and returned to the living room to continue their game night.</span>
</p>
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